Notícias

Cáritas Coimbra presents project GrowMeUp in Italy

The GrowMeUp’s project team from Cáritas Coimbra participated in the International Conference SOCIAL INCLUSION AND SOLIDARITY: Networking and study-visit, which took place in Padua, Italy, from the 27th to the 29th of October, organized by Scuola Centrale Formazione.

Joining about two dozen representatives of European institutions, public and private, the event enabled the sharing of experiences and projects, present and future, as well as visiting several Italian institutions working in the area of social support, entrepreneurship and employability, support to disadvantaged people, with disabilities and to refugees.

There have also been organized discussion forums, pointing out some of the societal problems that require urgent intervention and which have already been discussed for possible joint projects.

Caritas Coimbra presented project GrowMeUp, explaining its objectives and development, referring the forms of its participation and expectations.

GrowMeUp project is co-financed by the European Union under Horizon 2020, involving eight partners from six different countries, led by the University of Coimbra (besides UC and Caritas Coimbra are also partners the University of Geneva, Zuyderland, the University of Cyprus, PAL Robotics, ProBayes and Citard IT Services) that will cooperate in the development of the system.

New technologies that help the elderly improving their quality of life and promoting active aging are one of Caritas Coimbra priorities, which includes the participation in GrowMeUp, a project of research and technological development, which main goal is to perfect and test an innovative robot, GrowMu, which will support people over 65 years in their daily activities. It is a social robot, which is not intended to replace the services already provided by institutions or contact with caregivers, formal or informal, but be a complement in the elderly daily life, particularly in their periods of greater isolation or loneliness.